Canterlot, Occupied Equestria
Eight PM
====

As the rain came down, drenching the once-idyllic capital of Equestria, a lone alicorn stood on her covered balcony, her tears interlaced with the drops that fell. Twilight Sparkle gave a sigh of remorse and took a seat on a nearby chair, and brushed her tears away.

Three months ago, she and her friends had defeated the demon Lord Tirek and restored the land's stolen magic. It had been a time for celebration, as Twilight was soon crowned the Princess of Friendship. Everything soon returned to a relative state of normalcy.

Until black-clad warships appeared in the seas to the south of Equestria, their banners proudly displayed the image of a wendigo. They called themselves the Eqaharions, and they came to conquer. For when Twilight and her friends defeated Tirek, a pulse of magic echoed across the entire world. For many, it was a sign of hope for the future.

For the Eqaharions, it was a sign of what was to come. Their homeland, though once the origin of the three tribes that would found Equestria, had been splintered by years of internal strife, culminating in the three city-states made of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies electing their first King, Diomedas.

Diomedas, and his sons Hector, Ajax, and Chiron, quickly set their sights on the land to the north that was said to be paradise. Equestria was told of as a land where winter did not kill, crops grew year-round, and above all, defended only by six "Elements of Harmony" and the three Alicorns of the Sun, Moon, and Love.

For generations, the Eqaharions had looked there and yearned to see their flag over Canterlot, but due to the power of the two Alicorns of the Sun and Moon, they had never attempted an incursion or even set out to reach its shores.

But once Diomedas became King, he made it clear that it was now or never that Equestria would come under their banner, and he made ready his newly-conscripted amies from each city-state. New and terrible weapons were forged, and obsidian armor made to resist magic was given to every soldier regardless of rank or skill. These soldiers were then trained to be ruthless, unforgiving, and ordered to kill without mercy.

The Eqaharions, bolstered by these new weapons and fueled by a fervor for conquest, launched a massive invasion of Equestria. From the south, they struck Canterlot and soon conquered the entire southern provinces of the realm.

The Crystal Empire, recognizing the threat, took in as many refugees as they could, bolstered its defenses, and shielded itself like in the days of King Sombra, using the winter weather to its advantage. But for the ill-prepared and under-armed Equestrians, it was a slaughter as city after city fell.

Soon, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna vanished, the sun and moon now rising and setting
on their own upon each day and night. The Elements of Harmony scattered, Twilight Sparkle personally captured by Prince Hector, and the White Banner of the Eqaharions flew over Canterlot. With the city and the realm secure, the Eqaharions made themselves at home, establishing themselves as the new ruling class.

It wasn't long before Prince Hector made a public declaration to the world. One that declared Twilight Sparkle to be his future bride and queen, the realm of Equestria to be a satellite of Eqaharion. The final statement was a threat to any other nation that would dare contest this claim.

Set even an inch into Equestria, and all the nations of the world will burn.

Now, Twilight dreaded every day she lived, as her inevitable wedding to Prince Hector drew closer and closer. She couldn't even muster the courage to jump from her chamber's window, and even if she did, the Eqaharions had patrols and magical wards to discourage any escape attempt.

"Dear Princess?"

Twilight seized up at the voice of Prince Hector, who came into the room with a plate of food and a goblet of wine. Hector was broad, well-muscled, and like all Eqharian royalty, had a pale gray coat with a bright gold mane. His cutie mark was a crown and a sword intersecting, and as he set the meal down, he approached Twilight with an air of lust.

"Go away." was all Twilight could say.

"Why so hostile?" Hector chuckled. "I have come with your dinner, and in good spirits. I am afraid I don't understand."

"You know perfectly well why I'm hostile to you and all of your kind." she retorted bitterly, swiping away Hector's hoof, that was reaching for her cheek. "You came and destroyed my home, exiled my friends, and banished Celestia and Luna, all for what? Did your father not even tell you?"

"My father's word is law, and his every command obeyed." Hector replied instantly. "We do not dare question our ruler's judgement. And neither should you, my bride."

"As if." Twilight walked away in a huff. "I couldn't care less about you, Hector. And despite the fact that you've all of a sudden been nice to me after a month straight of captivity, I have no reason to like you, let alone marry you."

Hector's eyes darkened as he moved closer to her.

"You are lucky I am bound by my oath to my father to leave you...unspoiled before our marriage." he scowled. "Otherwise I would have taken you weeks ago and made you merely a slave, a concubine at best."

Twilight turned to him with fury in her eyes and slapped him with all the strength she could muster, given her weakened state from having her magic drained at the climax of Canterlot's fall. Hector stumbled, but quickly regained his poise.

"One day, you'll regret ever doing that." he said with an air of a promise. "Goodnight, my bride. I hope to see you at breakfast in the morning."

As he departed, Twilight collapsed on a couch and began to cry weakly. As she turned to a single crystal bookshelf, all that she saved from her palace in Ponyville, she turned her eyes to the journal linked to Sunset Shimmer in the human world of Earth. Before she was captured, she had sent a message to Sunset, telling her of the invasion and to seal the portal to Earth immediately so the Eqaharions could not learn of it or use it.

Sunset had done so, and promised to find help as soon as she could. That had been two weeks ago, and there had been no further responses since then.

"Just send help soon, Sunset…" she muttered before she collapsed and fell asleep, tears streaking down her face as the lanterns in her chambers dimmed.

====
Planet Earth, United States of America
Canter City, Massachusetts.
Canterlot High Library
====

"Sunset Shimmer?"

Sunset Shimmer looked up from her journal and homework at the sound of someone clearing their throat and asking her name. She had expected Principal Celestia or Vice Principal Luna.

Instead, it was a man wearing military fatigues, with a pistol at his waist. Another man wearing special-forces gear with a blue baseball cap, emblazoned with a Spartan Helmet stood nearby.

"That's me." she replied, cautiously closing the journal. "Who are you?"

"Lt. Colonel Scott Mitchell, US Army, Fifth Special Forces Group." the man replied, taking a seat. "We're here to talk to you about Equestria."

That made Sunset freeze noticeably. Ever since she got Twilight's message, she had done as she asked, and one night after school, shut the portal using a spell Twilight supplied. Since then, Twilight hadn't sent a single message at all. Sunset knew nothing of what had happened back home since then.

"Is this about the invasion?" she asked carefully. "I'm aware of what happened."

"As is the US Government." Mitchell replied. "Seeing as you're the only Equestrian on Earth that can help us, you're our best shot."

"Best shot at what?" Sunset said quietly, raising her eyebrow.

"The US Government is launching an Operation, designated Echo Solace." Mitchell replied. "Four teams from my unit are deploying to Equestria in order to topple the Eqaharian regime. But we need you to get us over there. If you can get that portal open, the 5th SFG will take it from there."

"All we need is your cooperation."

Sunset looked to the side before meeting Mitchell's eyes sharply.

"I'll do it. Except...you'll need someone familiar with Equestria to help you navigate. That will be me. Deal?"

"Deal." Mitchell replied, shaking Sunset's hand. "Welcome to the 5th SFG, Sunset.

"Glad to be with you." she replied. "I'll see what I can do with the portal."

====

As Mitchell and Nomad watched, Sunset utilized her magic and touched the portal with her hand. As a glowing white vortex appeared in front of the statue, the human Twilight Sparkle pressed a button on a nearby device she had laid on the ground.

This device, which Twilight and Sunset had used to seal the portal the first time, had been reworked to open a new portal to Equestria, independent of the original. If all went according to plan, the device could open the new portal at will and close it if needed.

Plus, it was about the size of a car battery, albeit with an Ipad tablet taped onto the top, so it could be moved and adjusted on the go, and didn't need to rely on an external power source.

As the portal near the statue closed, Sunset pulled away an orb of magic about the size of a basketball in her hands from the vortex. As she fed the orb into the device's core, it glowed a vibrant blue along with a command window displaying lines of code on the screen. Then, it ceased and the text-composed image of a thumbs-up appeared.

"We're good to go." Sunset nodded, powering off the portal device and handing it to Mitchell, who secured it aboard the Blackhawk. "What now?"

"Now, we get to work" Mitchell replied as he motioned to the helicopter. "Pack your things, Sunset."

"You're coming with us. Ready to fight a war?"

"As I'll ever be." she replied. "Let's do this."

Well, here we go. I hope you enjoyed!

Next time - the four Ghost squads deploy to Equestria, and soon link up with the Resistance cell in the Everfree, led by Rainbow Dash.